Roller Reefing on my 22.

[BillyO]

As many of you know,the 22 came with roller reefing. I use the reefing frequently as conditions dictate. My queston is how impractical is roller reefing compared to typcal slab reefing.
LAst season I put on a new loose footed man with one reef point.
Should I go to strictly slab and install second reefing point or continue to use roller set up ?

[joelcunningham]

I have never sailed my cd25 yet. It also has a roller main. I posted here about it some time ago. Lots of responses were negative but one fellow thought it was great. He had experience with it. I think the others had bigger boats and just thought it was a bad idea all around when considering sail shape. I still think it might be fine on smaller boats like yours and mine. The point I made at that time was that you might not be as concerned about optimal sail shape so much when conditions call for reducing your main by half. The fellow who like it suggested rolling up an old jacket in the first turn in order to keep the leech from getting too baggy. Just curious. Since you have actually used it, do you find it fairly easy to handle the operation?

[Sea Hunt]

I lack the experience and skills of most on this board. That said, I would offer the following.

After taking sailing lessons on a Colgate 26, I sailed for two years on weekends on an Ensign 22. We "raced" around cans on Saturdays. The Ensign had roller reefing. We would normally reef at the dock if Biscayne Bay looked "iffy". It was often difficult to get the rolled up portion of the mainsail to roll smoothly.

When the sailing school purchased Harbor 20s, they had slab reefing. I much preferred the slab reefing. For me at least it was simpler, quicker and easier. It could also be done while under sail with little stress versus, at least for me, attempting roller reefing while under sail. The sailing school owner did stress that the reef ties were not supposed to go around the boom as that would put a lot of unnecessary stress on the system.

On my Cape Dory Typhoon Weekender I had slab reefing as well and practiced reefing several times while under sail. I had only one set of reef points and one reefing line.

For me at least, slab reefing was, and is, much easier, and looks cleaner, than roller reefing.

[Steve Laume]

I think the others had bigger boats and just thought it was a bad idea all around when considering sail shape. I still think it might be fine on smaller boats like yours and mine. The point I made at that time was that you might not be as concerned about optimal sail shape so much when conditions call for reducing your main by half.

Sail shape might actually be more important when the winds increase. You want to be able to flatten your sail in such conditions and roller reefing eliminates much of that control.

Roller reefing also eliminates the possibility of using a boom vang.

The general thinking these days seems to lean very strongly towards slab reefing as being very easy and effective, Steve.

[mgphl52]

After reefing my first Ty once with the roller boom, I immediately took the main to a sail maker and had two "real" reef points added. If you always reef at the dock, the roller may be OK. But sooner or later you'll find yourself reefing while under way. Slab reefing is far simpler to accomplish than trying to roll up a flogging main on the boom. Slab reefing will also allow your to properly tension the reduced foot, which as Steve pointed out, can be very important.

Just my two cents as a prior CD owner...

[joelcunningham]

Looks like the voices of experience are weighing heavily against my point of view. I think you fellows are starting to convince me. Maybe the roller idea is just too jurassic.

[Steve Laume]

I once sailed on a Swedish boat that had a very nifty roller reefing main.

When you wanted to reef it was simply a matter of inserting a winch handle in the forward side of the mast and cranking in the sail as you eased the main halyard. It seemed like a great idea until the wind piped up a bit more and blew the reef out!

That was the only direct experience I have had with roller reefing.

My TY was originally set up to roll but by the time I got the boat it had reef points in the sail and I never tried to roll one in.

If you are going to go with slab reefing I would highly recommend rigging a topping lift. I don't know if the CD22 has one or not. The TY didn't. It will make things much easier at a time when you don't need problems.
The back stay hook was fine for putting things away at the mooring but pretty worthless while reefing, Steve.

[trapper]

My 22 did had the roller reefing. If I had kept the boat, I would have put reef points in the main. I could not reef it away from the dock by myself when the wind built. I could reef it at the dock, but it was not as easy as slab reefing. I had the boat in Charleston with very fast currents which did not help.

I much perfer the slab reefing. That said, I did not reef the 22 nearly a often as I reef my current 25D. The 22 can go in pretty stiff winds without reefing the main so long as you are conservative with the headsail.

The 22 is one sweet little boat. I miss mine.

[Jim Davis]

Having used both, I consider roller reefing to be viable if there is nothing better. I can say this from owning a CD25 for 25 years and an Alberg30 for about 12, along with sailing on other boats with it. Both had roller, which I quickly changed. The roller was somewhat OK if done in port, but to get a tight roll the foot had to have jackets/shirts/towels stuffed in and as has been noted, makes vangs problematic. It also helped to have a second person to pull the sail back and keep it under tension. Slab/Jiffy or what ever you want to call the traditional method is quick, safe to put in and gives much better sail shape. It can be done easier/faster and neater shorthanded than roller as well.

[Bruce Bett]

I don't know how the roller reefing works on the 22. On the 25 you have to pull the boom aft against a spring and then roll it up. Here are some comments I made on this board back in 2001.

Many years ago shortly after my father got his Cape Dory 25 we were sailing out on Lake Huron and decided to try the roller reefing. Now I want you to visualize this. One of us at the tiller luffing the boat up into the wind, and the other standing in the cockpit trying to reef the main. The boat is bouncing around a good deal because the waves are up a bit. The man doing the reefing is trying to pull the boom backwards and twist it. If the sail is full it's pulling forward if not the boom is swinging with the wave action. We gave it up as unworkable. I strongly recommend that you ask your sail maker to give you two sets of reef points and that you rig your boat for jiffy reefing. It is MUCH better than the above.

Bruce Bett
Sostenuto
CD 25 #496